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      in Rooms

      Barde + vanVoltt transforms dingy Amsterdam garage into family home

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      Amsterdam studio Barde + vanVoltt has inserted skylights and glass partition walls into this former garage to transform it into a light-filled family home that celebrates the building’s industrial past.Located in central Amsterdam, just a few steps away from the Rijksmuseum, the 100-square-metre space is on the ground floor of a residential terrace built in the 1930s. It originally hosted a hardware store but was most recently used as a garage.

      Above: wood-framed glass doors lead into the bedrooms. Top image: a wood-panelled kitchen is located at the front of the apartment
      Barde + vanVoltt was asked to transform the building into a wide and open family home for four that brings in as much natural light as possible. The brief also called for the use of sustainable and natural materials as well as a simple, minimalist interior that allows details to stand out.
      “We wanted to keep the space as wide as possible without having corridors or a hallway because that’s what makes this space unique in Amsterdam,” Barde + vanVoltt co-founder Valérie Boerma told Dezeen. “Most apartments are divided over multiple levels and are very narrow.”

      The dining room, kitchen and lounge share an open-plan space

      Working to a six-month deadline, the studio’s first challenge was to channel natural light from the street-facing front of the building to the rear.
      The large, double front doors that open up onto the road were switched from solid wood to glass, maximising the amount of light in the apartment’s open-plan kitchen, dining and living area.

      The wooden doorframes are arched in a nod to art deco
      At the rear of the building, Barde + vanVoltt raised the roof and converted the ceiling into skylights. Underneath, the plan accommodates a total of three bedrooms – a master with an en-suite and two children’s rooms that double as playrooms.
      Each is delineated by timber-framed glass walls and doors, allowing natural light to filter into these darker spaces.

      The apartments clay walls have built-in storage
      The designers’ second challenge was balancing the integrity of the property with the needs of a young family.
      “We drew inspiration from the building’s industrial past into the choice of materials and refined the selection based on durability and sustainability,” said the studio.

      A free-standing tin bath anchors the en-suite bathroom
      The building’s original concrete floor was retained and offset against natural clay walls and arched wooden door and window frames reminiscent of the art deco period.
      “We wanted to add warmth to the concrete floor, so we designed the wooden Meranti doors with a reference in the arching detail to the 1930s when the property was built,” Boerma explained.

      Standard Studio use skylights to funnel light into Amsterdam loft

      The studio added industrial fixtures such as untreated wooden frames, a freestanding tin bath and sink in the en-suite, brushed and burnished copper tapware in the wet areas, and a kitchen island made from rolled steel with a quartzite benchtop.
      Outside, the original hardware store signage on the building’s facade was left in place. In the summer, the wide double doors can be opened up and the pedestrianised street outside the apartment can be used as a terrace.

      The kitchen features quartzite worktops
      “The neighbourhood – made up of a few streets – is a very unique area in the city centre of Amsterdam,” explained Boerma. “It feels like a village, everybody knows each other and kids are playing together on the streets.”
      Former inner-city garages can offer unique but sometimes awkwardly-shaped sites for development. In east London, architect Zoe Chan built Herringbone House on the non-linear site of a former car workshop, while in south London Tikari Works squeezed Pocket House into the space of a former garage, where the buildable area was only 35 square metres.

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      Ten contemporary children's bedrooms to inspire design-savvy parents

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      For this interior design lookbook we’ve chosen 10 stylish kids’ bedrooms featuring bunk beds, raised beds and whimsical cloud-shaped lights.This is the latest roundup in our Dezeen Lookbooks series providing visual inspiration for the home. Previous articles in the series feature inspiring outdoor living spaces, calming green kitchens, and living rooms with beautiful statement shelving.

      Adorable House, Japan, by Form
      Skylights funnel daylight into this family residence in Tokyo, which has a main living space along with a bedroom on its first floor. Its pared-back children’s room features white walls and simple wooden furniture.
      Find out more about Adorable House ›

      A Room for Two, London, UK, by Studio Ben Allen
      An elaborate plywood structure built inside one of the rooms of this flat in London’s Barbican Estate turns it into a bedroom for two children.
      Designed by Studio Ben Allen the structure contains two beds and a desk as well as playful archways, steps and a fold-down desk.
      Find out more about A Room for Two ›

      Fahouse, Quebec, Canada, by Jean Verville
      Canadian architect Jean Verville designed this holiday home on a gently sloping site in a hemlock forest in southeastern Quebec. At the back of the home, the children’s bedroom is located in the pointed roof space.
      Find out more about Fahouse ›

      100.60 Apartment, Bilbao, Spain, by Azab
      As part of the refurbishment of this apartment in Bilbao, architecture studio Azab created a pair of triangular-shaped children’s bedrooms underneath the sloping roof.
      Both bedrooms have beds that can be rolled away to create more space for playing and are fronted with corrugated plastic walls.
      Find out more about 100.60 Apartment ›

      The Mantelpiece Loft, Stockholm, Sweden, Note Design Studio
      Stockholm-based Note Design Studio reconfigured this loft apartment so that the parents and both children could have their own room.
      The children’s bedrooms are on mezzanine levels and include inbuilt wardrobes and a bed painted in blush pink.
      Find out more about The Mantelpiece Loft ›

      Room for One More, London, UK, by Studio Ben Allen
      Studio Ben Allen updated this apartment in the Barbican Estate by reconfiguring it to include a child’s bedroom – a feature that lends the project its name of Room For One More.
      The bedroom has a raised teal bed that is accessed by a short flight of stairs, which can be pushed in to form a small desk. A chunky armchair upholstered in grass-green fabric sits beneath the practical bed.
      Find out more about Room for One More ›

      House for a Photographer, France, by Alireza Razavi
      Paris architect Alireza Razavi designed this summer house in Brittany for a photographer.
      A mezzanine level added to the attic room contains beds for two children and is connected by a ladder to the children’s play area below.
      Find out more about House for a Photographer ›

      House-within-a-House, London, UK, by Alma-nac
      Architecture studio Alma-nac has extended a 1950s property in Brockley, south London, to create a contemporary family home.
      Its second floor contains three bedrooms beneath the peak of the roof, including one for a child, which the studio describes as having “cathedral-like proportions”.
      Find out more about House-within-a-House ›

      Budge Over Dover, Sydney, Australia, by YSG
      Interior design studio YSG has revamped a house in Sydney using terracotta brick, aged brass and aubergine-hued plaster.
      The children’s bedroom has lighter tones with sky-blue walls and whimsical cloud-shaped lamps hanging from the ceiling.
      Find out more about Budge Over Dover ›

      Tel Aviv apartment, Israel, by Toledano Architects
      This apartment in Tel Aviv has a plywood cabin located in its children’s bedroom.
      Toledano Architects designed the space, which is laid out like a playground and filled with objects that promote creativity, to be a nook for the home’s youngest residents to escape to.
      Find out more about Tel Aviv apartment ›
      This is the latest in our series of lookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen’s image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing peaceful bedrooms, calm living rooms and colourful kitchens.

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